John Grass
John Grass, also known by his Dakota name "Pezi," meaning "field of grass," was a significant figure among the Sioux people in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. He was the son of a Sioux leader and was notable for his linguistic abilities, speaking several Dakota dialects as well as English, which allowed him to communicate broadly within his community. In an era of intense upheaval following the U.S. government's policies towards Native Americans, Grass was positioned as a rival chief to Sitting Bull by Indian Agent Major James McLaughlin, aimed at diminishing Sitting Bull's influence. He faced considerable pressure and signed an agreement in 1889 that led to the division of the Great Sioux Reservation, a decision made under duress amid threats from the government. Despite his role in these agreements, the subsequent actions of the U.S. government further exacerbated deprivation among the Sioux, particularly leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Grass also served for over thirty years as the head judge in the Court of Indian Offenses at the Standing Rock Reservation. He passed away in 1918 at Standing Rock, leaving a complex legacy intertwined with the struggles and resilience of the Sioux Nation.
John Grass
- Born: c. 1837
- Birthplace: Unknown
- Died: May 10, 1918
- Place of death: Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota
Category: Tribal leader, diplomat
Tribal affiliation: Teton Sioux
Significance: John Grass was a diplomat and political leader of the Sioux in their long struggle against the United States
John Grass’s English name came from the Dakota “Pezi,” meaning “field of grass”; he also was sometimes called Mato Watakpe (Charging Bear). He was a son of Grass, a Sioux leader of the early nineteenth century. He spoke a number of Dakota dialects as well as English, so he was one of few people in the Dakotas who could communicate with nearly everyone else.
In an attempt to break Sitting Bull’s influence over the Sioux, Indian Agent Major James (“White Hair”) McLaughlin set up Grass, Gall, and other Sioux as rival chiefs to Sitting Bull after the latter had surrendered in 1881. Over the objections of Sitting Bull, Grass signed an agreement in 1889 which broke up the Great Sioux Reservation. He probably was bowing to threats by McLaughlin that the U.S. government would take the land with or without Sioux consent. Even after the land was signed over, the government reduced the food allotments on northern Plains reservations, intensifying the poverty and suffering that helped increase tensions just before the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890.
For more than three decades, Grass served as head judge in the Court of Indian Offenses of the Standing Rock Reservation. He died at Standing Rock in 1918.